1998: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

The world of sports: Ukrainian, that is

Olympic years place the athletes who compete with the world on a special pedestal. This year, the 18th Winter Olympiad was held in Nagano, Japan, and Ukraine managed to string together a competitive contingent, despite the financial constraints that were making themselves strongly felt.

Just as it did prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the first at which the nascent country had a separate delegation, the Ukrainian government gave its competitors a gala send-off in Kyiv on January 28, attended by Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko. All told, a team of 56 athletes represented Ukraine in Nagano, along with 47 trainers, competing in 10 of the 14 Olympic winter events.

Stan Haba, veteran fund-raiser and head of the Canadian Friends of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOC-U), attended the gala, and was granted the honor of marching into Minami Stadium in Nagano together with the delegation led by flag-bearer Andriy Deryzemlia.

Ukrainian Canadian contributions went toward the purchase of athletic equipment, booking of hotel rooms closer to practice and competition sites, and walkie-talkies for the biathlon team.

Team Ukraine's only medal winner was Olena Petrova, who brought home the silver in the 15-kilometer biathlon, but the story of the games were the four whirling teens of the freestyle aerial skiing event. Tetiana Kozachenko, 16, Alla Tsuper, 18, and Olena Yunchyk, 15, and Yuliia Kliukova, 16, all qualified for the finals of the women's competition and stayed in the top 10 to the last jump.

The very last competitor in the event knocked Ms. Kozachenko off the podium into fourth place, just ahead of Ms. Tsuper. Ms. Kliukova finished eighth, while Ms. Yunchyk was 10th - astounding placings for a country whose program in the sport was essentially non-existent before Ski Lacroix of Switzerland decided to sponsor Team Ukraine at the Lillehammer Games in 1994.

As it turned out, they were also one of the few Ukrainian athletes who benefitted from the spotty TV coverage, thanks largely to the fact that U.S. aerialist Nikki Stone was vying for the gold medal. Kyiv-based figure skater Yulia Lavrenchuk managed to make it onto the small screen thanks only to an IBM commercial in which she was featured. Ironically, the spot was titled "Watch for me."

Otherwise, Iryna Taranenko Terelia, a veteran of the cross-country skiing circuits, came closest to winning a medal - she garnered two fourth-place finishes, missing the bronze in the 10-kilometer free pursuit race by 2.7 seconds.

On the way home, the Olympians had to endure bizarre difficulties in their flight from Japan (rerouting around China, doors on their plane which wouldn't seal properly), but were honored once again by their sports-mad prime minister on February 24 at the Institute of Physical Culture. Ms. Petrova was given the Presidential Medal, Mr. Taranenko Terelia also was recognized, while Ms. Yunchyk was held out to be the example of Ukraine's future potential.

In a heartening story, Ukrainian paraplegic athletes taking part in the Paraplegic Olympic Games in Nagano, did considerably better than the Ukrainian Winter Olympic team. The paraplegic team won several medals - Petro Kardash from Kharkiv won the 5-kilometer classical ski race, while Olena Akopian from Dnipropetrovsk and Tamara Kulinych won silver in the biathlon. Olha Kravchuk and Svitlana Tryfonova came in second and third, respectively, in the 2.5-kilometer ski race.

Also at the Olympics, but in Canada's red and white colors, were Ukrainian Canadian hockey players Judy Diduck and Kim Ratushny who took home silver medals.

Soccer

Among the main headline-grabbers this year, thanks to the World Cup in France, have been soccer teams. Kyiv Dynamo and Ukraine's national team have proven no exception. Last fall, the nationals finished second in their qualifying group behind Germany to earn a playoff berth, but had the misfortune to draw eventual World Cup third-placer Croatia, which knocked them out in a game played with ruthless efficiency in Kyiv. The Dynamisty drove to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League Cup competition, shocking PSV Eindhoven and other powerhouses, only to draw the European No. 1 Juventus.

On March 4, in front of 40,723 of Turin's Italian faithful, they faced an unbelievable barrage from a team of world all-stars (Zinadine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Edgar Davids, Filippo Inzaghi), and defended like lions in front of goaltender Oleksander Shovkovskyi, keeping Europe's big guns off the score board. Then, at the 57th minute, a bad clearance from a Juventus defender allowed Andriy Gusin to score. Ahead of Juventus?!

This did not last. Juventus regained composure, tied the game in the 76th minute and continued to press relentlessly, although the tally remained at 1-1 at the final whistle.

The pressure did not let up in Kyiv in the follow-up match on March 18. In fact it was ratcheted higher, and Dynamo proved to be no match for 1998's eventual champions. Mr. Inzaghi exploded for three goals, and Mr. Del Piero added another for good measure. Final score: 4-1 (Serhiy Rebrov scored for Ukraine).

Dynamo suffered a let down, and in May appeared to be succumbing to Shakhtar Donetsk's drive for top spot in Ukraine's premier division. Things had settled down by June however, and, with a victory against Zirka Kirovohrad, Dynamo locked up first place and another berth in the European championships.

This fall's campaign began with an uneven ride through the preliminary round. Dynamo first crushed a hapless Barry Town team from Wales 8-0, then stumbled 0-1 against Spartak Prague at home before salvaging the situation with a shoot-out-decided decision, to qualify for group play.

Beaten by Panathinaikos of Greece in the first match 2-1 (September 16), Dynamo played Lens of France (September 30) and Arsenal of England (October 21) to identical scores of 1-1. Things picked up in a 3-1 drubbing of Arsenal on November 4, and then Dynamo exacted a measure of revenge on the Greek team 2-1 on November 25 to put itself in a position to take first place in the very evenly matched Group E. Dynamo did so with a convincing 3-1 victory over Lens on December 9.

The momentum of Dynamo's march to the playoffs has been more sustained of late and the team earned a 14th place ranking in Europe, but they face a daunting task in the next round. Once again, Dynamo has drawn the European No. 1 team. This year, it's Real Madrid. The first match is scheduled to take place in Spain on March 3.

The National Team launched its campaign to capture a European Championship in 2000 by scoring a historic victory over Russia on September 5 in Kyiv. It was historic because this was the first time the two sides faced off in senior international play since Ukraine gained its independence, but it proved anticlimactically one-sided.

Ukraine was ahead 3-1 in the dying moments of the game, a score that could have been even more disproportionate, when some carelessness allowed Viktor Onopko (actually a Ukrainian playing for Russia) to score, brining the final tally to 3-2. Subsequent matches have involved group doormats Andorra (October 10) and Armenia (October 14), but produced only 2-0 victories on each occasion, a factor that could prove sticky later.

The real test will come on March 27 next year, when the blue-and-yellows travel to play World Champion France at home.

Ukraine's footballers have also headlined on this side of the Big Pond. On December 14, The New York Times carried a story about the contributions made by Dema Kovalenko, Yuri Lavrinenko and Aleksei Korol to the efforts of the best college soccer team in the U.S. - Indiana University's Hoosiers. It was headlined: "Hoosiers' Title: From Ukraine with Love."

The previous afternoon, Indiana had beaten Stanford 3-1 in Richmond, Virginia, to claim the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title. Mr. Korol was voted the outstanding player of the tournament and scored the third "backbreaker" goal in the dying seconds of the first half of the NCAA final. Mr. Kovalenko had opened the scoring at the seventh minute, with his 15th goal of the season, on a cross from Mr. Lavrinenko. Then the three Ukes combined to set up a goal by Mr. Lavrinenko 12 minutes later.

According to the Times item, over the last two years, the trio have helped Indiana compile a 46-3 record, with 148 goals for and 25 against, and in this year's NCAA tournament the team scored a record seven goals, the most tallied since St. Louis netted 10 in 1963.

Goodwill Games (and other athletic highlights)

The other major sporting event of the year took place in New York City - the Ted Turner-sponsored Goodwill Games, which featured 1,500 athletes from 66 countries (Ukraine's contingent included 29 athletes, coaches, judges and other sports officials), competing in 15 sports for 15 days and for $5 million in prize money.

Ukrainian sprinter Zhanna Pintusevych claimed her share on the opening day, July 19, by placing second in the 100-meter dash, behind this summer's untouchable force - Marion Jones of the U.S., who is billed as the fastest woman in the world. The next day Ms. Jones took another gold and Ms. Pintusevych another silver, in the 200 meters.

World champion Olena Vitrychenko went home as the all-around silver medalist in rhythmic gymnastics, but also captured gold in the rope individual apparatus event and bronze in the hoop, and placed fifth in both clubs and ribbon.

Her compatriot Tamara Yerofeyeva came in sixth overall, and was acknowledged as a rising star for placing fourth in the clubs, tying for sixth in both the hoop and the ribbon, and coming in seventh in the rope.

Olha Teslenko claimed another silver medal for Ukraine, in the gymnastics' beam event, beaten for the gold medal in that event by a mere .05 points by Kristin Maloney of the United States. Ms. Teslenko also finished sixth in the women's individual all-round gymnastics competition, sixth in the uneven bars, and sixth in the floor exercise.

Roman Zozulia finished fourth in the individual men's gymnastics all-around competition, seventh in the individual floor exercise and seventh again in the rings event.

Teslenko and Zozulia hooked up for the mixed pairs competition and made it through the first two qualifying rounds (they even finished on top in the first rotation of the competition), but in the end did not reach the podium.

Pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka was off last year's world championship form. He was disappointing at the Goodwill Games and no-heighted, once again bedevilled by the newly introduced 90-second rule that forces vaulters to clear their heights within the stated time limit. He'd started the year off well enough - unlike last year, he won the ninth edition of the annual Pole Vault Star International Competition he organizes in January in his home town of Donetsk. Enthusiasts can only wonder if the record-breaker's career will be brought to an end by this technicality.

At the Goodwill Games Anzhela Balakhanova tied for the bronze medal in the women's competition, thus earning Ukraine some pole vaulting hardware after all. Earlier in the year, on February 28, Ms. Balakhanova broke the women's indoor record at the European Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain (although her mark was eclipsed a week later).

Valentyna Fediushina of Crimea won bronze in the women's shot put, while in the men's event Yurii Bilonoh came in fourth. At the European Championships in Bucharest on August 18, he took the bronze behind a gold medal performance by compatriot Oleksander Bohach.

Olena Zhupyna and Svitlana Serbina took silver in 10-meter platform synchronized diving. Ms. Zhupyna paired with Olha Leonova came in fifth in the three-meter springboard synchronized diving, and in the 10-meter platform Ms. Zhupyna, the world champion in that event, finished fourth, just out of the medals.

A more powerful display in the pool was shown by Denys Silantiev, who set games records in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly.

Oddly, in addition to summer sports, this year's Goodwill Games featured competition in figure skating. Ice dancers Olena Hrushyna and Ruslan Honcharov took the bronze medal. In men's figure skating, Yevhenii Pliuta placed eighth.

In toto, Ukrainians took home six silver medals, four bronze and one gold from the Goodwill Games, placing their country in a tie for eighth in the overall count.

Swimming

At the World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia, held on January 8-18, Ukraine's entrants Ms. Zhupyna and Ms. Serbina won a gold medal each, and the country's synchronized diving team took home another.

Joanne Malar, the Ukrainian Canadian phenom from Hamilton who was hyped prior to the Atlanta Games and then suffered from disappointing performances, bounced back this year. At the nationals she claimed her 20th Canadian swimming title by winning the women's 400-meter freestyle.

The comeback got better at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 12, when she finished five lengths ahead of her nearest competitor in the 400-meter individual medley final, and less than an hour later helped the Canadian 4x200- meter team capture the bronze medal, and later earned three more medals. Kelly Stefanyshyn of Winnipeg added a gold (in the 100-meter backstroke) and a silver (behind Ms. Malar in the 400-meter medley).

There was an explosion of Ukrainian power from both sides of the Atlantic at the amateur (FINA) World Cup in Edmonton on November 27-28. Ms. Malar won one gold, one silver and two bronze, Ms. Stefanyshyn took four silvers, while Mr. Silantiev arrived from Zaporizhia to claim a gold and a silver for Ukraine. Fellow Zaporozhian Dmytro Kraevsky competed, but did no better than fifth in the 100-meter breastroke. Michael Mintenko of Canada (a native of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) won bronze in the 50-meter butterfly.

Figure skating

In February, a reader admonished us to "stop focusing on Oksana Baiul" because of the embarrassments the embattled former world champion figure skater was causing herself and because the hard-drinking competitor had the habit (seemingly brought on by "Oprah" appearances) of referring to herself as "Russian." Well, we tried to resist...

Ms. Baiul checked in for treatment for alcoholism on May 7, and cancelled a summer's worth of appearances with the Champions On Ice tour. On November 16, on "Oprah," she bared her soul about her experiences in rehab. Ms. Baiul also announced that she will make a bid to get reinstated for Olympic competition in 2002. Although she again professed to be "Russian," Victor Petrenko's erstwhile protégé did not say for which country she intends to compete. On November 18, Ms. Baiul finished second to reigning Olympic Champion Tara Lipinski in a televised "Ice Wars" skate-off.

In the amateur world, Ukraine showed that while it lacks an Oksana Baiul who will dazzle the field, it does have a full complement of top-10 competitors in all events. At the European Championships in Milan, Italy, held on January 11-18, Olena Liashenko finished fourth, and Yulia Lavrenchuk flirted with the top five before falling back to 12th. 1996 European Champion Viacheslav Zahorodniuk finished seventh, and 1993 winter Dmytro Dmytrenko came in eighth. Irina Romanova and Ihor Yaroshenko, familiar to those who follow the sport as one of the more consistent tandems on the circuit, also finished eighth in the ice dance. In the pairs, Yevgenia Filonenko and Ihor Marchenko were sixth, ahead of youthful compatriots Yulia Obertas and Dmytro Palamarchuk

In Nagano, Filonenko and Marchenko were 11th, actually buoyed by some disastrous skating in the ranks above them. Mr. Zahorodniuk ran into trouble early and couldn't rise higher than 10th. Mr. Dmytrenko was also prone to falls and finished 14th. Romanova and Yaroshenko turned in typically workmanlike performance and earned a ninth spot.

At the World Championships in Minneapolis on March 29-April 5, Mr. Zahorodniuk improved to fourth, Mr. Pliuta came ninth, Ms. Lavrenchuk was seventh, and Ms. Liashenko finished one spot ahead of her compatriot.

On November 14 in Kamloops, British Columbia, Ms. Liashenko shocked No. 1 seed Irina Slutskaya of Russia to take the Skate Canada competition, the second international win in her career.

On November 25, Obertas and Palamarchuk (age 14 and 18, respectively) successfully defended their World Junior Championship.

Other sporting notes

• Vitalii Klychko, brother of Olympic Champion Volodymyr, won the European super-heavyweight boxing championship (the first Ukrainian to do so) on October 25 in Hamburg, Germany, over local favorite Mario Schiesser. The victory, the 22nd by knockout in his career, earned him a shot at the World Boxing Organization's world champion Herbie Hide. The fight is tentatively scheduled for the summer of 1999.
  
  
• This tennis season found Greg Rusedski solidified his status as a top-10 player and on December 16, he was ranked fifth in the world, building on having reached the 1997 U.S. Open final. His best performance, which the Montreal-born Ukrainian Canadian called "the highlight of my career," was a straight-set 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over No. 1 ranked Pete Sampras of the U.S. in the finals of the Paris Open on November 8.
  
  This year he was a finalist in the Croatian Indoors Tournament in Split, Croatia (losing to local champion Goran Ivanisevic), the Champions Cup at Indian Wells, California (losing to Marcello Rios, who almost dethroned Mr. Sampras as No. 1 at the end of the year) and the Toulouse Open (losing to Jan Siemerink), and won the European Community Championship in Antwerp, Belgium.
  
  
• For Andrei Medvedev it wasn't an entirely disastrous season, since he had a Swedish Open final (lost to Magnus Gustafsson) to his credit, and he acquitted himself well in Davis Cup play, but he finished well down in the rankings (61st), and seems unlikely to threaten for the top again.
  
  
• In the summer, Kyiv correspondent Roman Woronowycz asked "Baseball on Independence Day: Could this be Kyiv?" As his report attested, it was. A focus on Coach Dmytro Matsulevych of the Kyiv-based Atma Sports Club and his young charges, it gave some background on the history of the sport in Ukraine. Then in the fall, The Weekly carried the second "Baseball Journal" as recorded by Coach Basil Tarasko, recounting the triumphs and tribulations of "Ukraine Baseball" - Ukraine's cadet, junior and senior teams. This year, his under-16 charges came to the U.S. for the first time, to play in the AA Youth World Baseball Championships near St. Louis. While mostly overmatched against teams such as Chinese Taipei and Korea, they won a game against South Africa to win 11th place in the tournament and watched Mark McGwire of the Cardinals hit, not one, but two home runs. The cadets finished fourth in the Pool A European Championships - no medals, but not a bad performance. The seniors finished fifth in Pool B, but U.S.-based schools and scouts (other than Mr. Tarasko) are beginning to sit up and take notice. Aleksiy Gluhiy of Symferopol became the first Ukrainian baseball player to receive a U.S. baseball scholarship (host institution: Lexington College, Kentucky).
  
  
• Matt Kuchar of Winter Park, Fla., the 1997 U.S. Amateur Champion wowed the golf pros at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, in April, kept pace with Tiger Woods for a time, and earned a return invitation for next year's tournament. In June he finished 14th overall in the U.S. Open in San Francisco, attracting intense pressure to turn pro.
  
  
• In September, Atlanta's indefatigable popularizer of Ukraine's Olympic movement, Laryssa Barabash Temple, was appointed by the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine as its special attaché to the organizing committee of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympiad in 2002. At the seventh Ukrainian World Congress on December 4, Ms. Temple was elected chair of the UWC's Sports Commission, succeeding Vsevolod Sokolyk.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 27, 1998, No. 52, Vol. LXVI

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